The price of everything and the value of nothing!
According to its “Council Strategy and Business Plan”, Cornwall Council aims to: “Work with communities for a carbon neutral Cornwall, where everyone can start well, live well and age well”.
But this laudable goal is being undermined by Conservative Councillors and a Conservative Government who know the price of everything and the value of nothing.
Everyone knows that prevention is better than cure, yet the Conservatives have repeatedly made short-sighted cuts which end up costing more than they save. They say that “living within our means” requires “making difficult choices”, but they fail to recognise that money spent on insulating homes, building wind turbines and repairing school buildings actually repays itself three times over: Investments like these directly create jobs right here in Cornwall; they indirectly reduce energy bills; and finally, they reduce our contribution to climate change.
The same logic applies to investments in “human capital”: Investment in supporting new parents reduces the number of children ending up in the care system. Well-funded mainstream schools send fewer SEND children to expensive specialist schools. Investing in vocational education increases the pool of skilled workers to grow the economy. Investing in public health reduces the burden on the NHS. Investing in drug rehabilitation reduces crime. Investing in probation reduces the number of ex-offenders re-offending. Yet every one of these services has been cut by the Conservatives in the name of “balancing the books”.
The last Labour Government was reckless with public money, especially through “Private Finance Initiatives” which tied schools, hospitals, prisons, and councils into long commercial contracts. Labour saw the shiny objects and ignored the long-term costs, and the Liberal Democrats in Government rightly put a stop to new “PFI” contracts. But the Conservatives threw out the baby with the bathwater: For thirteen years they have failed to replace PFI with a proper system of long-term investment in physical and human capital.
We now face the triple-burden of services struggling to survive; physical and human infrastructure undermined; and the highest burden of tax and debt since the Second World War. This week, Conservative-run Cornwall Council announced that Council Tax and the Tamar Tolls will both be increased again, at the same time as more services are cut!
This moment calls for bold yet wise action. The Conservatives have shown that they lack the vision to invest in our country. Labour have learned the wrong lesson from the past; rather than explaining how they will avoid being captured by the private sector, they have simply reduced their ambition. They will not commit to invest in anything for fear of being accused of recklessness.
Only the Liberal Democrats have shown that they understand the value of investment, and have the ability to do deals that work for the country rather than shovelling cash into the pockets of greedy corporate executives.